Bharathiyaar

I have always been fascinated by Bharathiyaar’s songs. My father had most of the songs learnt by-heart and had a habit of singing out loudly at home. So ,in the pre-radio days that is the only channel we grew up listening to.

Over the years , with more and more resources available on the Internet, I have read up the songs, commentaries and have listened to various versions of the songs rendered by celebrity singers and commoners alike. Every time I listened to a song, it has been absolutely amazing to note that the great poet’s songs sound as captivating in every avtar, every form at any part of the day.

Recently, I listened to , or I should say ,saw a video version of a song on the you tube presented by the Indian Raga group. It is a channel I follow regularly  and it is heartening to note that the current generation loves the poet as much as we did.  Here it is .

What I liked was the way, the artists moved seamlessly from a classic style to a folk style on the same song, with the same instruments. The words are so beautiful; sound so great, yet so simple to understand, and the flow is so smooth adapting to every style or raagam it is sung in. Tamil being an ancient language, many poets are tempted to use high-flown words to show off their learning. But Bharathiyaar’s songs are so contemporary in style that even though many of the words are hardly ever used in spoken Tamil, every word hits home as if it is your mother speaking.

It is not just the beauty of the words, the meaning conveyed is so sublime that every time you hear a song it is so much more inspiring !

Just to appreciate his writings , one feels, a life time is not enough you wonder how on earth did he compose so much in a short span of twenty odd years !
to listen to  Bharathiyaar's songs  ....  Click